King's Legacy Liberal, Complex

     Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, and this would have been King's 82nd birthday. King used non-violent protest to bring about civil rights for minorities in the United States. His biggest mentor in the United States was Bayard Rustin. Rustin was a homosexual Quaker and had been inspired by Mahatma Ghandi. When King traveled to India in 1959, he said Ghandi "embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation."
     King made his name during the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, but is best remembered for his "I Have A Dream" speech, much of which was improvised. The speech took place in 1963 during the March on Washington. Although the March is remembered as an inspiration for all Americans, including blacks, at the time it was much more controversial. King acquiesced to pressure from President Kennedy to tone down his remarks, lest they effect the passage of the Civil Rights Bill, and Malcolm X, a far more militant civil rights advocate, called it the "Farce on Washington." In the end, King's speech struck the perfect tone, and helped pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
     Here is when King's positions become a little more controversial, and his legacy more complicated. In 1965, King voiced his opposition to the Vietnam War, arguing that the military occupation was steering money away from helping poor people. "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." In 1968, King started the Poor People's Campaign. The campaign sought to bring attention to the plight of all under-served Americans, regardless of race. This lead to a backlash from civil right leaders, Malcolm X and even Baynard Rustin. King envisioned a "multiracial army of the poor" marching on Washington. He even supported certain reparations, but not only to African-Americans. "It should benefit the disadvantaged of all races," he said, claiming that it would alleviate social ills such as violence, divorce, and drug use. The Poor People's March on Washington did take place, but not until after Kings assassination. The protesters constructed a tent city on the national mall, called Resurrection City.
     As a nation, we have come a long way on issues of race. We have an African-American president, and dozens of elected African-American Representatives, including King's friend John Lewis (D-GA). On issues of militarism and poverty, however, we still have far to go. The United States continues to spend billions on military occupations in Asia, and the gap between rich and poor is still growing. As a nation, we need to recognize Martin Luther King for all of his positions and achievements, and not just cherry-pick the ones that fit into our convenient narrative about America as a land of opportunity. Precisely because African-Americans have come so far, we need to remember King as he was, and continue to fight for what he believed in, improvement in the lives of all Americans, regardless of race, peace and nonviolence, and the end of American colonialism.